


I Dreamed I Was an Avenger

by WhiteravenGreywolf



Series: If I stay [29]
Category: Captain Marvel (2019), Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Age of Ultron if Carol had been there, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Carol is a badass (as usual), F/F, Fluff, Flybis forever, So spoilers for Age of Ultron, The Carol Initiative 2
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-04-10
Updated: 2019-04-11
Packaged: 2020-01-11 01:02:08
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 10,204
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18419591
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/WhiteravenGreywolf/pseuds/WhiteravenGreywolf
Summary: Carol was happy. They'd finally gotten Loki's scepter back, it was just the matter of this one party, one party and then she and Maria were flying home for some well-deserved rest. But of course, Tony had to create life.Age of Ultron, but with Carol in the middle.





	1. Always Falling

**Author's Note:**

> Hey guys! You were waiting for it, so here it is! Age of Ultron! Definitely one of my favorite MCU movies, I know not everyone thinks it's the best but I have a soft spot for it. Like Avengers, I have to make it a two-parter, because it's already late and I have to study for my finals tomorrow and I still haven't done it (but at least this semester I followed this particular course instead of claiming 'I can do it' and failing miserably)  
> Anyway, I don't want to spoil everything but you are probably going to hate me by the end of this chapter (I'm used to it) so don't forget to tune in tomorrow for the second part! Besides that, I hope you enjoy!

Carol blasted another tank to bits before flying out of the way. Swerving between pine trees was not as easy as it looked, and she was far more used to flying in wide open spaces with no obstacles in sight – besides the random field of asteroids she could blast through. But she assumed the local population would not be happy if she blasted through most of the forest's trees. She shook a bit of snow out of her hair and looked down. She saw the main path cutting through the trees and all the way to the HYDRA base they were going to take down. Natasha was driving a jeep on the road, with Clint standing on the back and firing arrows, but other vehicles were coming their way and sandwiching the jeep.

  
"Did someone order a jeep sandwich?" she asked as she flew down.

  
She landed right in front of the jeep to the right and braced for impact. It hit her with full force, and the metal bent around her. All the HYDRA goons who had been on it were thrown out of the vehicle. She pushed the car's accordion-like corpse away from her, then turned around. She blasted the other jeep still trying to push her friends', and it was stopped dead in its tracks. Then, she flew off again.

  
"You guys were almost a jeep sandwich."

  
"Stop it with the sandwiches, you're making me hungry," Clint replied.

  
Carol flew above the jeep, blasting a few more vehicles out of the way. She was almost hit by one of the canons which had been perched on top of the tanks, but she avoided it at the last minute. She flew away from the main path, closer to where Cap's motorcycle was jumping up and down nimbly. She landed on a bunker at full force, sending blocks of concrete all around. She blasted a few armored enemies before taking off again.

  
After blasting down a watchtower, she found the rest of the group. Natasha and Clint had just ditched the jeep to jump over a row of barbwires. The base was close-by, just a few miles up. Thor flew past her with his hammer first. He dropped it on a small group of agents. Carol blasted another group out of the way, landing once again to shoot at a group of soldiers coming their way.

  
Steve's shield bounced between a few trees before coming straight for Carol. She caught it and sent it back toward Steve. He kicked an enemy away from his motorbike, then caught his shield and sent it back the other way.

  
"Shit!" they heard Tony shout.

  
"Language!" Steve called out. "JARVIS, what's the view from upstairs?"

  
Carol chuckled as JARVIS replied:

  
"The central building is protected by some kind of energy shield. Strucker's technology is well beyond any other Hydra base we've taken."

  
"Need a hand with that?"

  
She flew up above the forest once again and straight for the base. Once she was close enough, she started shooting at the main building. Somehow, her photon blasts ricocheted off the building's energy shield, almost hitting her in the process. She dove out of the way at the last second.

  
"On second thought, I'll let you deal with that."

  
"Loki's scepter must be here. Strucker couldn't mount this defense without it," Thor said. "At long last."

  
She flew toward the ground, and the less protected canons placed along the path leading up to the main building. Energy rays tried and failed to touch her. She blasted automatically each new one she encountered, climbing slowly around the mountain.

  
"At long last is lasting a little long, fellows," Natasha said.

  
"Oh no, I could do this all day," Carol replied.

  
"Yeah, well, I think we lost the element of surprise," Clint added.

  
Carol saw Tony flying around the building, taking down agents and trying to find a way inside.

  
"Wait a second. No one else is going to deal with the fact that Capsicle just said 'language?'"

  
"I know. It just slipped out."

  
As Carol flew back up, after having systematically destroyed every canon on the way up, clearing it for when the others would get there, she heard JARVIS talk to Tony:

  
"Sir, the city is taking fire."

  
"Well, we know Strucker's not going to worry about civilian casualties. Send in the Iron Legion."

  
Five drones flew around the valley from wherever Tony had been keeping them, passing near Carol as they flew toward the city.

  
"Do you want me to do some damage control?" Carol asked.

  
Carol never had an answer. She could suddenly feel the air vibrating, somewhere below her. It was strangely physical. She felt a sort of connection, something calling her down. She remembered just in time that there were still canons firing at her, and she flew out of the way.

  
"Guys, there's something off down there."

  
"What do you mean, off?" Steve asked.

  
Before she could answer, Steve added:

  
"Never mind, there's an enhanced on the field."

  
"What?"

  
Carol flew back down toward the forest. She could see it if she focused enough. A blur of white and blue, running through the snow. It would not do. She tried blasting it, but it was too fast and she couldn't touch it. Soon enough, she lost complete sight of it.

  
"I had a visual on the blur but its, well, blurry."

  
As she waited for an answer from someone else, she heard Natasha in her earpiece:

  
"Clint's hit!"

  
A few seconds later, it was followed by:

  
"Somebody wants to deal with that bunker?"

  
Carol was about to zero in on her position, but she saw a big green giant ramming through the forest, and she assumed the hulk would take care of it.

  
"Stark, we really need to get inside."

  
"I'm closing in."

  
The next minute, the shield over the building started flickering before being shut down.

  
"Drawbridge is down, people."

  
Carol flew back toward the main building.

  
"Clint's hit pretty bad, guys. We're gonna need evac."

  
"Okay," Steve replied. "Thor's taking Clint back to the jet. Carol, how clear is the path toward the main building?"

  
"Pretty clear. I could drop you off?"

  
She saw Steve running down the main path. It would have taken quite some time to get there, even at his full speed, she flew down toward him and he held up his arm. She took him by the hand and flew up. Steve let himself be carried off the ground, and Carol flew them to the base, not too fast as to not take Steve's shoulder out of its socket. She dropped him up in the back courtyard, and he dive-bombed on a bunch of HYDRA soldiers.

  
"Thank god you skipped breakfast!" she joked as she watched him run into the building.

  
"I would never skip breakfast," Steve replied.

  
Carol flew off, taking out the canons left on the inner rampart, the ones she hadn't been able to access before because of the shield.

  
"Is it time for breakfast?" she asked. "Or is it lunch time... Oh wait, Clint is unconscious, isn't he? Goddamn it!"

  
"For gosh sake, watch your language!" Tony replied.

  
"Wrong Cap," Carol shot back.

  
Carol flew back toward the forest when she saw two of the Iron Legion drones flew past her. She followed them. There, she saw Natasha standing beside a group of surrounded HYDRA agents. All the enemies were hesitant to drop their weapons.

  
"I would advise your drop your weapons," Natasha warned her own guns in hands.

  
All the HYDRA goons looked at each other with uncertainty. Some started lowering their weapons instantly, while others were slower to comply. Carol descended slowly beside Natasha, all lit up like a Christmas tree, hair a blazing white above her head, white energy bending around her. She crossed her arms and said:

  
"I would listen to the badass assassin if I were you."

  
Finally, all of the other ones complied. They all dropped their weapons, and Carol turned off her powers, landing beside Natasha. The Iron Legion drones started rounding the agents up, and Natasha called Steve:

  
"We're locked down out here."

  
"Then get to Banner, time for a lullaby."

  
Natasha looked over at Carol, who nodded. She could take care of the rest. Carol walked through the forest, looking for any agents still conscious that could be round up with the others. Suddenly, Steve called out:

  
"We have a second enhanced. Female. Do not engage."

  
"Everything okay inside?" Carol asked.

  
"Yeah, I got Strucker."

  
"And I got something bigger..." Tony added.

  
After a long minute, he called again:

  
"Thor, I got eyes on the prize."

  
She waited in anticipation, the nervous jitter in her stomach from the adrenaline slowly dissipating. Finally, Tony said:

  
"I have the scepter guys, we're going home!"

  
Carol nodded and flew off to the Quinjet waiting for them. Inside, she found Clint lying in the middle of the jet, unconscious, a reddening cloth on his side. Thor was standing beside him, waiting by the entrance of the jet.

  
"Ninety-two," Thor said as she passed beside him.

  
The reason why hit Carol like a train.

  
"Oh shoot! I forgot to count! But I destroyed every single cannon on the ramparts, that has to count for something? Plus a few tanks here and there."

  
Thor laughed loudly, clapping her on the back.

  
"Let us call it a draw, then, Captain."

* * *

  
  
Carol had borrowed Steve's motorbike to go to the airport. She parked right beside the main exit of the terminal and leaned against the bike with her arms crossed, her faithful old leather jacket on her shoulders and sunglasses on her nose. If anyone recognized her, no one stopped to talk to her.

  
She waited for quite some time, but it didn't matter. She watched the planes fly over the building, making a steep climb toward the clouds. She would have waited all day without a problem if it meant being reunited with the love of her life in the end.

  
Maria walked out of the airport with her old travel bag over her shoulder. She was about to head toward the bus stop when she saw from the corner of her eyes a familiar figure. She slowed down and looked to her right. She could recognize that smirk anywhere.

  
"Need a ride, beautiful?" Carol asked.

  
"Well, that depends. Are you driving or can I take the motorcycle and ditch you here?"

  
Carol pushed herself off the bike and walked up to Maria. She took her in her arms and kissed her with a smile. Maria kissed her back lovingly.

  
"I missed you," Carol whispered against her lips.

  
"I missed you too."

  
"Also you are not taking the bike. It's Steve's, he lent it to me and if I don't bring it back without a scratch I'm going to suffer the wrath of Captain America."

  
"Oh, are you insinuating that I can't ride a motorcycle properly?"

  
"Of course not. I'm just saying he's not going to lend it to me after he sees the scratch on the left side and I want to ride it one last time before I die pummeled by a metal Frisbee."

  
Maria burst out laughing, and Carol smiled. She picked up the helmet and handed it to Maria before climbing on the saddle.

  
"Hop on!"

  
Maria attached the helmet, moved her traveling bag so it was positioned on her shoulders like a backpack, and climbed behind Carol, both of her arms wrapped tightly around her girlfriend. Carol drove away quickly, the wind pulling at her ponytail.

* * *

  
  
The Avengers party had been alright, in Carol's opinion. Once again, being around an abundance of alcohol when you couldn't get drunk was the worst, but she had had a bit of Thor's special brew, and it had felt very strange to suddenly feel the warmth of alcohol running through her chest. It had almost made her want to cry and hug the Asgardian.

  
Monica and David had been there too since David was at the head of the Nuclear physics department in the tower. Carol had had the chance to see Monica more often in the past few weeks she'd spent in New York on Avengers duty, but Maria was glad to have the chance to spend some time with her daughter.

  
Of course, Carol had managed to drag Maria to her bedroom for a 'special tour' of the place. After laying in bed together for a good thirty minutes, Carol's head on Maria's shoulder and their legs tangled together, Maria had convinced Carol that they should return to the party. Carol had grumbled, but eventually, she had rolled out of the bed and picked up her shirt and underwear.

  
"But as soon as everyone leaves the party, we're coming back here."

  
"Sure," Maria had chuckled as she had picked up her dress.

  
They walked out of the elevator hand in hand, only to find that almost everyone had left the party anyway. Only the Avengers, plus Rhodey, Maria Hill and Helen Cho were still there. Even David and Monica had already left.

  
"Well, look who finally decided to return to the party!" Tony joked.

  
"Hey Carol, your shirt's not buttoned correctly," Clint called out.

  
"What?"

  
Carol worriedly looked at her shirt but found no button was wrongly attached. Her shirt was perfectly buttoned with barely a wrinkle. She glared at Clint, while he and some of the guys around the coffee table laughed at her.

  
"Oh wow, very funny," she deadpanned.

  
She let Maria walk her to the coffee table, beside which Steve was standing, still holding onto Thor's hammer. Maria settled on the couch beside Natasha, and Carol sat on the armrest beside her.

  
"What are you guys doing? Measurement contest? Cause I can already tell you none of you win."

  
"It's a hammer lifting contest," Natasha replied.

  
"An opening for the throne of Asgard, I see?"

  
"By all means, Carol, the floor is yours," Steve said as he moved away.

  
Carol shrugged.

  
"Really?"

  
She looked over at Thor.

  
"You want to lose your powers again?"

  
Thor chuckled.

  
"Only he who is worthy shall wield the hammer."

  
"He, hmm? Well, then I won't bother."

  
"What? Why?" Tony asked.

  
"Well, he said 'he', so it's obviously rigged so only a man can lift it. I'm not going to bother trying to lift a sexist hammer!"

  
"Oh come on!"

  
"Widow?" Bruce asked.

  
Natasha shook her head.

  
"Oh, no no. That's not a question I need answered."

  
All the guys in the room began to bicker about how and what and who could lift the hammer. Maria Hill pointed to Clint after he swore:

  
"Steve, he said a bad language word."

  
"Did you tell everyone about that?"

  
Tony ignored him and continued on his hypothesis:

  
"The handle's imprinted, right? Like a security code. "Whosoever is carrying Thor's fingerprints" is, I think, the literal translation?"

  
Thor chuckled:

  
"Yes, well that's, uh, that's a very, very interesting theory. I have a simpler one."

  
He stood up and picked up the hammer as if it weight nothing:

  
"You are not worthy."

  
Suddenly a loud screech pierced everyone's ears. It was so loud even Carol had to cover her ears. She thought it might have come from a bug in the sound system, but soon enough, a robotic voice echoed in the room:

  
"Worthy... No... How could you be worthy? You're all killers."

  
They all stood up and Carol turned around. There was a robot standing there, one of Tony's iron legion sentinel. Only this one was falling apart, made of pieces of junk strewed together in a somewhat orderly fashion. It limped closer to the stairs, spreading oil all over the floor.

  
"Stark," Steve called as if Tony could give a logical answer immediately.

  
"JARVIS," Tony called in turn for an answer.

  
The robot continued in a somewhat confused voice:

  
"I'm sorry I... I was asleep. Or I was... dreaming?"

  
Tony took out his phone quickly and started calling JARVIS:

  
"Reboot, Legionnaire OS, we got a buggy suit."

  
Still, the robot continued:

  
"There was a terrible noise... and I was... tangled in strings... I had to kill the other guy. He was a good guy."

  
"You killed someone?" Steve asked.

  
Carol felt a rush of adrenaline the longer the robot talked. Energy was just about ready to spew out of her fist. She could see everyone else was ready to attack as well.

  
"Wouldn't have been my first call. But, down in the real world, we're faced with ugly choices."

  
Thor had gotten a better hold of his hammer.

  
"Who sent you?" he asked.

  
When the robot answered, it wasn't his voice, but Tony's:

  
"I see a suit of armor around the world."

  
"Ultron?" Bruce asked in disbelief.

  
"In the flesh!" Ultron replied with a little motion of the arm, sending oil all over the room. "Or no... not yet... not this... chrysalis. But I'm ready. I'm on a mission."

  
"What mission?" Natasha asked calmly.

  
"Peace in our time."

  
Three Iron Legion sentinels burst out through the wall and flew toward them, blasting with both hands at any targets in their way. Carol immediately placed herself above Maria, as they both fell between the couch and the coffee table. Steve used the table as a shield but he was blasted away with the table. Everyone scattered in the panic. Carol was still crouching above Maria when she heard shards of glass exploding here and there. She looked up and saw all three robots flying around, trying to shoot at them. She flew up and knocked one into the ceiling. Its eyes shimmered before coming back to life. Soon enough, Tony jumped on its back, trying to disable it with a pick.

  
"I got this!" he shouted while riding the back of the robot.

  
Carol turned around and saw half of a robot flying menacingly toward doctor Cho. She flew down in front of it and caught its head in her hand before crushing it. Sparks gushed out from every crack but it tumbled quickly. Tony and his robot fell down in the stairs, and Steve threw his shield at the last one, cutting it in half.

  
Ultron was still standing there. Slowly, everyone moved to face him. Carol's hands were glowing fully at this point, small arcs of energy shooting in and out of her skin.

  
"That was dramatic! I'm sorry, I know you mean well. You just didn't think it through. You want to protect the world, but you don't want it to change. How is humanity saved if it's not allowed to...evolve?"

  
He picked up the busted robot at his feet and crushed its head with much more ease then Carol had had before.

  
"With these? These puppets? There's only one path to peace: The Avengers' extinction."

  
Thor threw his hammer, shattering Ultron in a thousand pieces. His dead metal body fell on the ground, and slowly the eyes turned off, as the faint words of a song rose out of his carcass.

* * *

  
  
Carol had not slept well that night. Ultron's twisted face had haunted her every time she closed her eyes. Even with Maria right beside her, she'd turned and turned without finding an ounce of sleep. They'd gone to bed after the Avengers emergency meeting in the lab when they'd realized that there was nothing else to do but track him and the scepter down once again. Still, Carol had gotten up before sunrise and, without much to do besides waiting some more, she'd started cleaning up the mess from the previous evening.

  
Maria had found her there, with a broom in one hand and a small plastic shovel in the other, trying to pick up all the glass from the broken windows. The sun was rising over the horizon, peeking through the building and casting low shadows in the penthouse.

  
"If only you were so diligent with the cleaning at home."

  
Carol had a small smile as she stopped cleaning and leaned on her broom.

  
"Well, if I ever caused that much mess at home, I think you would have made me sleep on the couch."

  
Maria felt the crunch of small glass shards under her shoes when she stopped beside Carol.

  
"Couldn't sleep?"

  
Carol nodded.

  
"You know how I hate waiting."

  
Maria wrapped her arms around Carol's waist, hugging her. Carol leaned into the hug.

  
"I know I said we would take the first flight home today but..."

  
"Well, I could always drop by Monica's apartment. I don't think she will mind a surprise visit from her mother."

  
They stayed there for a while, in silence, basking in each other's warmth. At one point, Steve and Maria walked through the elevator door, probably talking about Ultron:

  
"He's all over the globe. Robotics labs, weapons facilities, jet propulsion labs, reports of a metal man, or men, coming in and emptying the place."

  
Steve was about to climb up the stairs when he noticed Carol and Maria in the corner.

  
"Carol? We have a lead!" he called out.

  
"I'll be right there!"

  
Carol turned to her girlfriend, who looked at her with a small smile.

  
"Go on. Don't come back until you've saved the world again."

  
Carol smiled back, faintly, and kissed Maria longly. She didn't want to part, but eventually, she managed to. She took a few steps away, then turned back to Maria.

  
"Be careful, okay?"

  
"I be careful? You're the one flying toward trouble."

  
Carol pursed her lips.

  
"Just, be careful, okay?"

* * *

  
  
After digging in some old files – which made Carol realize that she did not miss paper files one bit – they suit up and flew to South Africa, where an old arms dealer might possibly lead them to Ultron. Carol flew above the massive beached ship in the middle of a dried out sea, to survey the scene from above. She had judge better to stay away and not infiltrate the boat because one, she was as subtle as a firework and two, photon blasts in close proximity to missiles did not sound like a good idea. She would wait outside in case Ultron tried to fly off.

  
Through her earpiece, Carol heard the entire conversation between Tony, Steve, Thor, and Ultron, she assumed. She also faintly heard the voices of the twins. Suddenly there were bangs and clangs in her ear, followed soon after by gunshots.

  
"Guys, do you need a hand?" She asked. "I can completely control my photon blasts, you know. I'm not gonna Hulk out or anything."

  
A few seconds later, both Ultron and Tony burst out of the roof of the ship. Tony was firing at Ultron who was firing back. Carol didn't hesitate. She started firing at Ultron. Her first blast missed but the second hit him in the shoulders, destabilizing him. Still, he looked up at her and chuckled:

  
"The other captain. Ready to tun away from danger."

  
"Funny, I was going to say the same about you."

  
She aimed at him again, but he caught her in some sort of magnet before throwing her at Tony. Tony avoided her and continued after Ultron. Carol got a hold of herself once again.

  
"Carol!" she heard Steve in her earpiece. "We could use someone in there to keep an eye on the vibranium."

  
"On my way!"

  
She flew straight down and made another hole through the ship. She landed quickly and turned off her powers. She really didn't want to blow everyone up. There were a few robots trying to seal the door to take the entire vault of vibranium away. She picked up one and threw it away, but it stopped its fall by flying up. The other tried to hit her but she crushed its arm before kicking it, tearing its arm off its body. She had been so prepared for the other robot to come back that she hadn't seen the girl slip behind her.

  
She frowned when a sudden headache blossomed behind her eyes. That was weird. So weird. Why was she having a headache she never had headaches, ever. She jumped off the railing to land down and come help her friends. As soon as her feet touched the ground, she began to sink. There was something gelatinous dragging her down, like a sinkhole.

  
"Guys! Guys help! I'm sinking! What the hell!" she called out.

  
No one came to her help. Instead, she sank faster and faster, to her waist, to her chest, to her shoulders. She tried to raise her hands to drag herself out, she tried to fly off, but nothing happened. Her powers didn't even turn on. As the gelatinous ground was about to engulf her completely, she took a deep breath.

  
When she opened her eyes again, she was suspended by her ankles. Hm, that hadn't happened in a while. She tried to shake herself out of the contraption, but she was solidly anchored. Blood seemed to have rushed to her head, as the headache had intensified. The pain was pulsating right in the middle of her brain. However, there were no Skrulls standing in front of her, no Talos to tell her about that Earth scientist in her head. Mar-Vell was standing there, or rather, the Supreme Intelligence. She was standing beside the screen used to visualize memories, though it was showing nothing at the moment.

  
"Hello, Vers. It's been a while."

  
Carol tried to pull on her arms to get herself out of the machine again, but it resisted. She tried to use her powers, but they didn't seem to activate anymore.

  
"What did you do to me?!" she shouted.

  
"Well, first, we created a stronger implant, one that can really take your powers away. It took us a while to figure out but we finally have exactly what we need to control you. And for the rest, well."

  
The Supreme Intelligence pointed to the console of the computer behind her.

  
"This little marvel of Skrull technology is just what we needed to take those pesky memories out of your head. Who would have thought Skrulls were good for something?"

  
Carol continued to fight her bondages, but still, they wouldn't budge.

  
"When I'm getting out of here, I'll destroy you!"

  
"When you're getting out of here? Oh no, when you'll be getting out of here, you won't even remember who you are. We're going to erase everything once again, for good this time."

  
Still, Carol continued to fight it. She searched out all the anger she had in her, used it to fuel her powers. Nothing happened. She pulled on the contraption with all of her might. Nothing happened.

  
"Why don't we watch as your little life flies out of your mind, hm?"

  
The Supreme Intelligence pushed a button, and Carol's latest memories appeared on the screen. It was like a tape rewinding, except that everything Carol saw on the screen was being forcefully pulled out of her memory, taken away from her, bit by bit.

  
"I won't let you!"

  
She watched as her flight with the Avengers to South Africa past her by. The search through old files. Then, her conversation with Maria. It started going faster after that. Carol felt her brain becoming lighter and lighter, she felt every memory being ripped out of her like a part of her soul was being torn from her body.

  
"No!"

  
She continued to fight it, continued to struggle with everything she had. Still, the memories continued to fly away.

  
"Stop! No!"

  
Last month's date at the restaurant, before she had to leave for New York. The family dinner of early February. New Year's Eve. Christmas. Nick's surprise call just because, just to chat. Bit by bit, quicker and quicker, all pieces of memory, even the seemingly insignificant ones flew out.

  
"No! Please! I'm begging you! Stop!"

  
Still, the memories continued to fly on the screen, and for each one, Carol could hear their voices, hear their jokes and their meaningful declarations and their I love yous.

  
'You're not feeding your daughter's boyfriend to our flerken, Carol!'

  
'What can I say? I had an amazing instructor.'

  
'Carol, breathe, okay?'

  
'Haven't you seen yourself in a mirror?'

  
'And you will always come back to me.'

  
"STOP!"

  
'Just so you know, I do consider you like my other mother.'

  
'You're still my mom, and Carol is still my mom, and I still love you both.'

  
'You should have.'

  
"PLEASE STOP!"

  
'Auntie Carol? I missed you.'

  
'To us.'

  
'I'm home.'

  
'I love you.'

  
"STOP! SHE'S WAITING FOR ME!"

  
'I love you.'

  
"I HAVE TO..."

* * *

  
  
"Carol? Hey, Carol?"

  
Clint was hovering above her. She was lying flat on her back, staring into the nothing.

  
"Carol? Come on, get up, we have to get back to the jet and I can't carry you and Nat."

  
Carol let herself be forced up. She followed Clint back to the jet without a sound.


	2. Stand and Fight

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Carol is pretty shaken by the nightmare Wanda gave her. But much like anything, it's time for her to shake it off and get back into the fight.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys! I'm so tired! This story took so much time to write! I had to fast forward a bit, but I hope you'll enjoy it nonetheless! New story tomorrow, a ton of Carol/Maria to be precise.  
> Also, I just noticed this story was my 90th story, which is crazy because it feels like I finally reached 60 not too long ago, but with this Captain Marvel challenge (it kind of is a challenge, don't you think?) the numbers kind of just blew up!  
> Anyway, once again I hope you enjoy and I'll see you tomorrow!

The wing of the Quinjet felt too big to hide, but it was the only place Carol could be alone. She didn't remember coming back to the plane or taking off. When she seemed to come back to herself, she was crouching behind a bunch of boxes containing god knows what, her hand on the computer of her suit. She was just a sweep of the hand away from calling Maria. She stared at the screen longly, then brush the menu away.

  
Tony was talking in the co-pilot seat. She tried to focus on the words but they didn't seem to make any sense. She was so tired. Her head was pounding. She tried to close her eyes but all she could see was that screen, that awful screen rewinding her life, again and again. She leaned her head against the cool metal of the wing. She was barely holding on. Somehow she didn't want to cry. She didn't know what she wanted anymore.

  
She took off her left arm bracer and let it fall to the ground with a clank. Inside, she found an old photo, all curled up by the shape of the protection. She pulled it out. It was the picture Monica had taken of Maria and her on New Year 2000, right after they had told her the truth. She uncurled it, laid it out as flat as possible on her lap, and stared at it. The picture wasn't perfect. It was underexposed, and the light of the kitchen was shining behind them, creating a lens-flare. But she was there, and Maria was there, and this had truly happened, it had happened, it had happened, she kept repeating herself.

It had happened.

* * *

  
  
They landed as the sun rose, amidst a few trees outside a sort of farm. Carol wasn't sure. She was still pretty shaken, though she tried not to let it show. She still held onto the picture, rolled up in the palm of her hand. They all followed Clint down the path and up to the main house. Carol lagged a bit behind. This place remained her so much of home. A single house in the middle of a big field, just far away from the road that no one would ask questions. But this wasn't home. She wasn't home. No one was home.

  
They walked inside, and Clint, still supporting Natasha, called out:

  
"Honey, I'm home!"

  
To everyone's surprise, a very pregnant woman walked toward them, looking both surprised and happy to see Clint. He let go of Natasha to kiss his wife and hug her.

  
"Hi. Company. Sorry, I didn't call ahead."

  
As they hugged, the woman looked at all of them above his shoulder.

  
"This is an agent of some kind," Tony explained as if it would make more sense than Clint was married.

  
Clint moved to place an arm around his wife's shoulders.

  
"Everyone, this is Laura."

  
"I know all of your names," Laura replied with a smile.

  
They heard shouts coming from the staircase and Clint smiled.

  
"Oh, incoming!"

  
Two children ran down the stairs and into the living room. The girl must have been no older than six. She ran up to Clint and hugged him fiercely. The boy side-hugged his father as Clint placed a kiss on his head.

  
"Hey, buddy! How are you guys doing?"

  
As Clint continued to hug his children, Tony continued to try and rationalize everything:

  
"And these are smaller agents..."

  
Clint placed his daughter back on the ground and she looked up to him and asked:

  
"Did you bring Auntie Nat?"

  
Natasha, who had been rather pale and shaky before suddenly seemed to come back to life.

  
"Why don't you hug her and find out?"

  
The girl giggled with glee and ran straight into Natasha's arms, who picked her up easily.

  
"Sorry for barging in on you," Steve apologized.

  
He, somehow, was still standing tall and strong, even after whatever he'd seen in his nightmare.

  
"Yeah, we would have called ahead, but we were busy having no idea that you existed," Tony replied.

  
Clint placed an arm on his son's shoulders, the other on his wife's and he explained:

  
"Fury helped me set this up when I joined. He kept it off SHIELD's files, I'd like to keep it that way. I figure it's a good place to lay low."

  
As Natasha moved to talk to Laura, the little girl came to look up at Thor. Thor seemed just as shaken as Carol. Soon enough, he walked out, and Steve followed him. Carol would have followed too if she still felt she had the strength to move. As it were, she was reclining against the nearest wall, focusing absolutely all of her thoughts on the picture in her hand. She didn't even realize the little girl had moved to talk to her until she was standing in front of her and asked her:

  
"Are you Captain Marvel?"

  
She looked down at the girl with surprise, but finally, she smiled and crouched to be on the same level as her.

  
"That's me."

  
"Daddy says you can fly. Is it true?"

  
"Yeah, I do fly on occasion."

  
Stars lit up in the girl's eyes.

  
"Can you take me to fly?..."

  
Whatever the little girl said disappeared completely when an old memory resurfaced in her mind with the strength of an imploding star.

  
_"Can you take me to fly? Mom said she can't take me on a plane, but maybe you can?"_

  
_Monica was laying on the hammock beside her, a canopy of stars above them. Carol smiled._

  
_"I'm sorry, Lieutenant Trouble, but the rules for your mom and I are the same. We can't take people up for a flight."_

  
_"Please? I'll make myself super small! You won't even notice I'm here!"_

  
_Carol chuckled. She side-hugged Monica, bringing her closer to place a kiss on her head._

  
_"I promise you, if I ever learn how to fly without a plane, the first thing we'll do is fly together, okay?"_

  
_Monica smiled and nodded enthusiastically._

  
_"We'll fly all the way to China!"_

  
_Carol giggled._

  
_"China, hmm? Why China?"_

  
_"Because it's very far away," Monica reasoned, which make Carol laugh even more._

  
_"Deal."_

  
"Carol?"

  
She was pulled out of her memory by Clint's voice. She looked around, and everyone was looking at her with worry.

  
"You okay? You kinda look pale?"

  
"Yeah, I just... I really need to take a nap."

  
Clint nodded and didn't press. No one else did. They all had too much on their minds to inquire about someone else's problem.

* * *

  
  
Carol had tried to take a nap, but once again, sleep evaded her completely. She'd changed out of her uniform into a pair of jeans Laura had lent to her while keeping her old tank top. She sat on the couch, listening. Bruce, Natasha, Clint, and Laura were upstairs. Tony and Steve were outside. The children were somewhere, she'd lost sight of them. With both feet planted on the ground and her elbows resting on her knees, Carol listened to everything. The sound of the grasshoppers outside. The tack of the ax on the wood outside. The cricks of the house, the footsteps above her.

  
She pulled her photo from out of her pocket and looked at it again. She held it firmly in both hands, staring longly. The phone sat beside her, so close, just close enough for her to reach. She could call Maria right now. She could call her and the sound of her voice would reassure her that it was just a bad dream. But at what cost? If Ultron recognized her voice, he could trace the call to her, or to Maria.

  
She heard something dropping behind her and it brought her out of her own mind. She turned around. Laura was standing in the kitchen, a bag of sliced bread at her feet.

  
"Here, let me help."

  
Carol stood up, pocketed her picture quickly and picked up the bag from the floor to hand it over to Laura.

  
"Thank you. I was trying to make lunch for everyone but besides sandwiches we don't have anything that could feed an army."

  
"You don't have to. I'm sure if you wait long enough one of the boys is going to grow hungry and they'll make food for themselves."

  
Laura chuckled.

  
"It's nothing. You all look a bit tired."

  
"You're, what, seven months pregnant? We should be the one cooking for you, seriously. There's a reason I've never told any of them where I live."

  
Again, Laura chuckled. She opened the bag and pulled out two slices of bread. Finally, Carol had had enough.

  
"I'll take care of it, okay? Just grab a chair and breathe."

  
"No, it's not..."

  
"I insist, really. I need to do something to keep my mind off of things."

  
Finally, Laura stopped resisting. She took a chair and sat down, facing the counter. Carol went into the fridge and found ham, mayo, and lettuce.

  
"You have a good eye," Laura commented.

  
"For?"

  
"The seven month."

  
Carol smiled as she started making the sandwiches, not thinking too much on the task at hand as she focused on the conversation.

  
"Well, I haven't been around a pregnant woman in a while, but I do remember very clearly what it was like when Maria was pregnant."

  
"Maria, that's your girlfriend, right?"

  
Carol looked up at her and nodded.

  
"Clint really did tell you everything."

  
"He told me your daughter is a pilot too, right?"

  
"I suppose me and Maria influenced her a bit."

  
"How old is she?"

  
"She'll turn 32 in a few months."

  
Laura was stunned for a moment. When Carol looked up, she could read the shock on her face plainly.

  
"I know, I'm exceptionally well-preserved. I'm 52, actually."

  
Laura let out a burst of disbelieving laughter.

  
"Really? I wish I could be as well-preserved as you when I turn 52!"

  
"Well, it's not always fun. My driver's license actually says 'born in 1963'. You should have seen the face of the last officer who pulled me over."

  
They laughed. Carol was stacking sandwiches on the side of the counter, hastily made and with bits of salad dripping out of the crust.

  
"That picture you were looking at when I came in, it's them?"

  
Carol shrugged. She could almost feel the photo vibrating in her pocket.

  
"Kinda. Monica took it. It's Maria and me on the 1st of January."

  
"You've been together for quite some time, I suppose."

  
"Thirty-two years, yeah."

  
Carol finished making the last sandwich and looked at the pile in front of her. It was just about ready to crumble.

  
"How did she take to you joining the Avengers?" Carol smirked.

  
"Are you looking for a kindred spirit, Laura?"

  
Laura shrugged.

  
"I've never met anyone who could understand what it was like, to see your husband walk out the door, and think 'this could be the last time I see him on his two feet'."

  
Carol nodded. She walked around the kitchen counter and came to sit in the chair beside Laura's.

  
"You're lucky Clint is careful. He's clumsy, sure, but he doesn't run into danger purposefully."

  
"You do?"

  
"All the time. I put Maria through absolutely everything you could imagine. Every nightmare you ever had, every sleepless night. I was gone for six years, presumed dead, and when I came back I had no memory of her, or us. I could tell you how guilty I feel about it, absolutely every day, and that if I had the chance of going back and changing things I would do it. But the truth is, I wouldn't. I took that plane because I knew if I didn't, Maria would have. I know how lucky I am, I absolutely do. I came back, I'm basically indestructible now, you would think there's nothing to worry about anymore. But I know she worries, and I worry because she worries. But there is absolutely nothing that will ever keep me from going back to her."

* * *

  
  
Carol was seating on the couch, playing with Lila, when the back door opened. She hadn't played with a kid in a long, long time. It almost made her wish for grand-children.

  
"The fierce Captain Danvers playing with unicorns. That is not something I ever thought I would see."

  
Carol smiled and turned around. Nick Fury was standing behind the couch. Tony was behind him, picking up a sandwich on the pile.

  
"Want to join in on the fun, Fury?"

  
He chuckled and she stood up, to quickly come and hug her old friend.

  
"I heard you took quite a hit."

  
"I'm better now. Apparently, unicorns are very therapeutic."

  
They moved apart, and Carol crossed her arms.

  
"Tell me you have a lead?"

  
"I thought I would just come over to boost up everyone's moral, actually."

  
"What, do we need to bring you back to the retirement home afterward?"

  
"Glad to see you haven't lost your sense of humor."

  
Carol moved to the kitchen and picked up one of the sandwiches from the pile. She placed it on a plate and cut it in half before handing it up to Fury.

  
"Here, something to munch on while I assemble the team."

  
She walked toward the stairs, only to hear Fury call back:

  
"Did you just cut my sandwich diagonally? That's a waste of food, Danvers!"

* * *

  
  
Carol was ready to fly to Korea, but Fury had other plans for her. He had borrowed a Quinjet from somewhere, and together they flew back to the Avengers tower to drop off Bruce. Once that was done, Fury gave her the new coordinates to input and they flew toward Washington DC.

  
"You know, if you just wanted to borrow me for the day, you could have just said so."

  
Fury chuckled.

  
"Doesn't that remind you of the old times? All we need is Goose purring on the dashboard."

  
Carol smiled.

  
"We could always make a detour. Lousiana isn't that far in Quinjet."

  
Silence fell between them, and Carol kept her eyes focused on the clear sky ahead. They were cloaked so there was no way could notice them, not even one of Ultron's spawns.

  
"So, are you going to talk about it or do you want to just bottle it up?" Fury finally asked.

  
"There really isn't much to talk about. The girl got me. I had a panic attack or something like that and then I recovered."

  
"I heard about that girl and the visions she gives to people. Did you know she got to Stark, back in Sokovia?"

  
"No. What did he see? A world where Stark Industries isn't the number one tech conglomerate on the planet?"

  
"He saw you dead."

  
Carol fell silent once again.

  
"All of you. Dead on the ground. And it was his fault. I can't even imagine what she made you saw."

  
"I could not have imagined it either," Carol replied in a low voice. "Now it's the only thing I see every time I close my eyes."

  
Fury waited silently until Carol continued.

  
"I was attached to this machine, and the Supreme Intelligence was wiping out my memory. It made me watch as all of my memories were just forced out of my brain."

  
"Carol..."

  
"Absolutely everything."

  
"I know you're not going to like me saying this, but I think you could use a break. Maybe leave the rest to the others?"

  
Carol shook her head with resolve.

  
"I'm not calling it quits. Not until we've annihilated the bastard."

  
"You sure you can hold it together?"

  
"Anger is a very good power fuel."

  
"How about fear?"

  
Carol seemed to pause of a moment before she replied:

  
"I'm not afraid. But Ultron should be very afraid."

* * *

  
  
They reached their destination a few minutes later, and as they pierced through the clouds, Carol saw the old helicarrier bobbing on the surface of the ocean.

  
"How did you get your hands on that old thing?"

  
"I still have a few tricks up my sleeve."

  
They landed on the runway and a bunch of people, many of whom Carol recognized as old colleagues, came to anchor the jet to the ground.

  
"That's not a trick, that's the entire magic show right there."

  
Fury smirked and they walked out of the Quinjet. Everyone they came across waved her way with a smile, and Carol couldn't help but smile back.

  
"I thought I told you not to come back until the world was saved."

  
Carol bolted around and came face to face with Maria, in her old SHIELD uniform. Carol was left speechless, but she compensated by taking Maria in her arms and kissing her fiercely. Behind them, Fury cleared his throat. Carol ignored him for a good ten seconds before she finally pulled away.

  
"I didn't bring you here so you could make out with your girlfriend," Fury declared.

  
"That's a shame," Carol replied.

  
Maria shook her head.

  
"No, he's right. No more kisses until you've saved the world."

  
Carol pouted.

  
"You two are no fun. Fine, what do you need me to do?"

  
She turned fully to face Fury and crossed her arms.

  
"This is an old lady, as you said, and she needs a bit of help to get going."

  
"Meaning?"

  
"We won't be able to get her out of the water without a little push."

  
"A little push, as in, a literal push? Is that it? You brought me to push your ship up, didn't you? I could be in Seoul right now, helping my friends, but you called me on the side to carry your helicarrier on my shoulders again?"

  
"Yes, I did."

  
Carol looked at him skeptically.

  
"Okay fine. Get everyone inside, it's going to be a rough take off."

* * *

  
  
Carol had put on her helmet and activate the shield to breathe underwater before she'd dived off the edge of the helicarrier and had swum under it. She could hear Fury talking to her in her helmet:

  
"Everyone is inside and all the planes are secured. On my mark, turn on the engines."

  
"Yes, sir," a familiar voice replied.

  
"Captain, wait for my signal to push up. And please, don't make a hole in the hull."

  
Carol rolled her eyes and replied:

  
"If I do it'll be all your fault. You just had to bring someone else for the job."

  
"Engines on!" Fury declared.

  
Carol looked around and saw the foam coming off of the engines at each corner of the helicarrier. She could feel the water current around her.

  
"Engines at fifty percent."

  
"Good. Captain, on my mark."

  
Carol flew closer to the hull and placed both of her hands on the cold metal, ready to push.

  
"Now!"

  
She flew up, trying to put just enough strength to take the helicarrier with her, but not too much to go through it. She wasn't sure she was doing much of anything until she could suddenly feel the fresh air over her hands. She continued to push up. Slowly, the helicarrier let itself be carried up.

  
"Engines at eighty percent."

  
"Hold on, Carol."

  
"I'm not the one who needs to hold on!" she warned.

  
Just like the previous time she'd carried the helicarrier, she could feel the metal caving in under her fingers. She tried to brace it on her back, both shoulders against the wet hull. She continued up. Her body was no longer submerged. They must have risen almost two hundred feet from the ground already, but there was still a long way to go.

  
"Engines at one hundred percent, sir."

  
"How are the propellers?"

  
"They're holding up, sir."

  
"Can I let go now?" Carol mumbled between her teeth.

  
"You should be able to."

  
"That's reassuring."

  
She continued to push the helicarrier slowly, and when she felt it rise away from her shoulders, she let out a breath of relief. The helicarrier was climbing up in the sky, not as quickly as it usually did, but it was still better than nothing. Carol flew up to face the bridge window. She instantly recognized Monica at the helm and smiled at her.

  
"Need me for more or can I start Avenging again?"

  
"No, we should be fine. We'll keep you posted if we find anything new."

  
"Same."

  
Carol switched her comms back to the Avengers frequency.

  
"Anyone on comms?" she instantly heard Steve call out.

  
"Steve? It's Carol."

  
No answer. She called back:

  
"Steve? Everything okay?"

  
"It's complicated. Can you come to pick me up in Seoul?"

  
"Hmm, sure. I should probably take a jet, I doubt you'll like a ride in the open air."

  
"Take the jet, I'm not alone."

  
Carol flew toward the top of the helicarrier and started taking the straps off of one of the jets up there.

  
"Did you guys crash another Quinjet? I told you not to crash Quinjets without me, only I can crash them safely."

  
"No, I'm with the Maximoffs."

* * *

  
  
By the time they made it back to the Avengers tower, Carol had been informed on everything she'd missed. Ultron's plans for the cradle and the stone inside, his dream of annihilation and the fact that whatever was inside that cradle could prove to be an even bigger threat than Ultron. Oh, and also that Tony was most likely going to try to bring it to life anyway.

  
She hadn't talked much to the twins. She was still a bit mad at Wanda for what she'd done, but she wasn't about to rub her anger in her face. There were more important things to do.

  
They all arrived together in the lab, only to find the cradle linked to a dozen cables, and Tony and Bruce working on it.

  
"I'm gonna say this once," Steve warned.

  
"How about nonce," Tony replied.

  
"Shut it down."

  
"Nope, not gonna happen."

  
"You don't know what you're doing."

  
"And you do? She's not in your head?"

  
Wanda stepped forward, ready to confront Bruce's anger.

  
"I know you're angry..."

  
"Oh, we're way past that. I could choke the life out of you and never change a shade."

  
Carol stepped in front of Wanda.

  
"Hey, that's enough! She got you, get over it. She's here to help, they both are."

  
As everyone began to shout at each other, Pietro suddenly zoomed past everyone and unplugged every tube out of the cradle. Everyone fell silent.

  
"No, no, go on. You were saying?"

  
There was a detonation, and the glass under Pietro shattered. He fell down to the lower level. Things escalated quickly soon after. Since Tony moved to plug in the cradle once again, Steve threw his shield, which bounced around the room. Tony summoned his armor and blasted him out of the way. Carol blasted Tony in turn, sending him tumbling through the open door behind him. Wanda was about to retaliate but Bruce got a hold of her. She didn't hesitate to throw her power through herself to push him back.

  
The next thing they knew, Thor had appeared out of nowhere, and, standing on top of the cradle, he had summoned all of his powers. Lightning crackled everywhere in the room. He fired the electricity at the cradle, which suddenly burst open, sending him back. A strange man walked out, with a deep crimson skin. They all watched, waiting silently, as smoke flew off of him and he slowly came to consciousness. Suddenly, he flew straight at Thor, who threw him through a window. He shattered it but stopped himself before he could go through another one. He looked outside longly. Carol followed Steve over the railing and down a level. Everyone joined them soon after. They all watched as the metal man joined them down, now fully covered by a green bodysuit.

  
"I'm sorry. That was... odd."

* * *

  
  
Carol had stopped counting the number of people she'd saved. She'd evacuated entire buildings, had picked up god knows how many cars from the edge before they'd fallen off. But most importantly, she'd carbonized every single robot she'd come across. Among the things she had expected this morning, watching a city rise from the ground was definitely not on the list. The robots though had been, and she'd become very proficient at smashing them to bits.

  
"The next wave's gonna hit any minute. What have you got, Stark?"

  
Carol flew over the rising city one last time to search for any sign of robots left behind. When she found none, she landed beside Steve and Natasha.

  
"Well, nothing great," Tony replied. "Maybe a way to blow up the city. That'll keep it from impacting the surface if you guys can get clear."

  
"I asked for a solution, not an escape plan."

  
"Impact radius is getting bigger every second. We're going to have to make a choice."

  
Natasha shook her head.

  
"These people are not going anywhere."

  
"I could try to fly them down?" Carol suggested. "I don't know how long it would take though."

  
"We might not have time to bring them all down," Natasha added. "If Stark finds a way to blow this rock..."

  
"Not 'til everyone's safe."

  
"Everyone up here versus everyone down there?"

  
Carol pursed her lips. She didn't want to think about it.

  
"I'm not leaving this rock with one civilian on it."

  
"I didn't say we should leave."

  
Silence fell between them. Carol looked over at the horizon. She'd signaled for Fury quite some time ago, but she hadn't heard from him since. If only the helicarrier was there. They could load everyone and blow up the city afterward.

  
"There are worse ways to go. Where else am I gonna get a view like this?"

  
They had already breached the clouds, to an altitude Carol was familiar with. Soon they would be so high even planes would start to pass them by.

  
"Glad you like the view, Romanoff. It's about to get better."

  
As Fury's voice died down in their earpiece, the helicarrier finally decided to make its grand entrance. Carol rolled her eyes. Fury, and his love for theatrics.

  
"Nice, right? I pulled her out of mothballs with a couple of old friends. Oh, and Carol pulled her out of the water. She's dusty, but she'll do."

  
"Fury you son of a bitch!" Carol called out. "You took your goddamn time, I was starting to think you were still hovering two-hundred feet above Arsenal point!"

  
"Captain Rogers, watch your teammates language, will you?"

  
As the helicarrier continued to rise into view, its side opened, and small lifeboats began to fly out. Pietro came to zoom toward them and stopped just at the edge of the city.

  
"This is SHIELD?"

  
"This is what SHIELD's supposed to be."

  
"This is not so bad."

  
The lifeboats began to land at the edge of the city, and all the people who'd been hiding in a nearby supermarket began to run toward them to be evacuated. Carol stopped by one of the lifeboats when she recognized Maria helping people inside.

  
"Well, well, look who's saving the world this time."

  
"Don't you have a city to stop from falling?"

  
"Well, it's not falling yet. Plus, there's no way I'm carrying this one."

  
Another wave of robots started flying toward them, and while Carol noticed War Machine flying around the helicarrier and taking them down, she decided to go give him a little hand.

* * *

  
  
After helping as many boats back to safety as possible, Carol flew toward the church to join with the rest of the group. They all moved around the core, just as Ultron moved back toward it.

  
"Is that all you can do?" Thor taunted him.

  
A sea of robots trotted toward them. Carol clenched her fist, ready to take them on.

  
"You had to ask..."

  
"This is the best I can do. This is exactly what I wanted. All of you, against all of me. How could you possibly hope to stop me?"

  
"Well, like the old man said. Together."

  
Hulk roared, and all the robots came onto them at once. Carol hovered over the drill, blasting any robots that got even remotely close to her. Around her, everyone was completely focused on the fight. They were tired, covered in dirt and grease, but they were fighting, and none of them failed. Not a single robot ever got close to the drill. The only thing that could be heard was metal being torn apart and sparks flying everywhere. Carol flew straight through half a dozen robots, tearing through them. It was like fighting Kree ships, except that they broke more easily.

  
Ultron did not seem to like the outcome of the fight, as he flew into the brawl, straight at Vision. Vision pushed him back with a laser from his stone. Thor saw an opportunity and threw lightning at Ultron. Tony blasted him as well. Carol flew in between them and added her photon blast to the mix. Ultron started melting in front of them, the vibranium of his body collapsing under their combined powers.

  
When he finally fell to his knees, his body bugging and half of his face torn off, Hulk didn't give him a beat to breathe and punched him so far he flew out of their sight.

  
"They're trying to leave the city."

  
"We can't let 'em, not even one. Rhodey!"

  
Both Carol and Vision flew out after them, meeting Rhodey halfway into the air. Not a single one escaped their sight. She was about to turn back and ask the others whether they needed help when suddenly the city started falling again.

  
"Guys? Hey, guys? Whatever you plan on doing, do it now!"

  
"Thor and I are on it!" Tony replied.

  
"Need a hand?"

  
"No, just make sure everyone is off."

  
"Is everyone off?"

  
"Has anyone seen Wanda?" Natasha called out.

  
Carol was about to turn to Vision, but he was already flying back to the city head first, so she assumed he must have known where she was. She flew back toward the helicarrier and landed on the runway. As she looked down, she saw the city set ablaze by white fires, and lightning crackling at the top of it. Then, with a massive bang, it blew up, shattering into millions of pieces in a dirt explosion so wide even Carol couldn't see where it began and ended.

  
"Everyone alright down there?"

  
"I'm fine, thanks for asking," Tony replied. "If someone would be so kind as to go and fish our Asgardian out of the water, though."

  
Carol sighed but jumped off the edge anyway.

  
"Fine. Saving an Asgardian must be worth quite some points."

* * *

  
  
The Avengers tower had been nice, sure, but compared to the upstate facility, it was nothing. Carol didn't know she had missed the pleasure of whipping new recruits into shapes until now. She was standing in the hangar, beside one of the new Quinjets – she'd already tested this model, it had past the Carol-can-crash-anything test with flying colors.

  
"I don't know about you but I kind of like it here."

  
Carol turned around and saw Maria walking toward her, in her brand new uniform. Carol liked it just as much as the previous one, if not more.

  
"What? Do you want to sell the house?"

  
Maria stopped beside her and took her hand.

  
"Well, you know, if we're both going to spend more time here, the house is going to be pretty empty. Even Goose seems to like it here more than home."

  
"Goose likes it here because everyone gives her food."

  
Carol contemplated the large room around them, the Quinjets aligned in the hangar, the large window on the side, the big white A on the wall.

  
"Let's not sell the house, okay?"

  
"Why not?"

  
"Because I like it, first."

  
Carol let go of Maria's hand and wrapped her arms around her waist.

  
"Also because I have a lot of good memories from there. It's our home. It's where I found you again. Even if it's empty now, and dusty. Let's keep it, okay?"

  
Maria smiled and pressed a kiss on Carol's lips.

  
"Alright, we're keeping it. But just so you know, your memories won't go away just because we don't have the house anymore."

  
"I know. I just... I want even more memories with you there. Is it too much to ask?"

  
"Absolutely not."


End file.
